Sleeve forming wire passageway around pickup

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for transferring electrical current to or from a moving electrically conductive wire includes a rod-shaped electrically conductive member at an angle with a normal straight line of wire travel. The conductive member is received within a bore of a support body. A sleeve is located within the support body bore and between the rod-shaped conductive member and the bore wall. The sleeve includes a channel which is coplanar with the normal straight line of wire travel and communicating with the conductive member outer surface. The channel forms a wire passageway. The moving wire travels through the wire passageway and in contact with the conductive member circular outer surface. The conductive member is rotated about its longitudinal axis for exposing multiple surfaces to the wire and the sleeve is fixed to the support body to prevent movement thereof during such rotation of the conductive member. The sleeve can be made of a non-conductive material.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/078,007 filed on Jun. 16, 1993, and entitled "Current Pickup Indexing Apparatus" which is itself a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 995,887 filed on Dec. 23, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,175, and entitled "Apparatus For Transferring Electrical Current To And From A Moving Wire".

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an improvement to an apparatus for conveying electrical current between an electric current member or pickup and an electrically conductive wire or cable which moves relative to the current transfer member. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved manner of forming and providing a wire passageway wherethrough the wire or cable may travel as it contacts the outer surface of a current pickup. The present invention has a wide range of potential applications including electrical discharge machines and welders.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The placing of electrical current on a moving wire is currently required and is being done in at least the electrical discharge machine (EDM) industries and welding industries. This is currently normally accomplished by providing various shaped current pickups which are electrically charged. The moving wire slides or rubs against the electrically charged surface of the current pickup thus transferring electrical current therethrough to and from the moving wire. One common pickup is generally cylindrically shaped with a bore therethrough. The wire is received through the pickup bore and, because the current pickup bore is offset from the straight line of wire travel, the moving wire electrode rubs against the interior surface of the bore making the necessary electrical contact for transferring current to the moving wire. Other current pickup devices are made with various shaped contact surfaces and are pushed toward the taut moving wire electrode or placed in the normal straight line of wire travel causing the wire to rub against the current pickup contact surface thereby making the necessary electrical contact. Current pickups such as those described hereinabove are, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,013 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,459.

However, the current pickups which are presently known and used have substantial shortcomings and drawbacks. Like all current pickups, as the moving wire slides against the pickup contact surface, the current pickup tends to wear and the wire causes a groove to be formed in the pickup through the original contact surface. Once the groove becomes sufficiently large in depth, the wire tends to bind therein causing wire breakage and requiring the stopping of, for example, the EDM operation and rethreading of the wire. As the groove is formed, the wire also tends to get closer to the normal straight line of wire travel (straighter) and even though the wire remains taut, there is insufficient contact between the wire and the new contact surface at the bottom of the groove for efficient current transfer. In view of this, after a particular contact surface has worn by a predetermined amount, the current pickup position is changed so as to provide a new contact surface or the entire current pickup itself is replaced.

Prior current pickups, however, provide relatively few contact surface positions whereat a new contact surface can be exposed to the moving wire. Typically, the cylinder-shaped pickups have a bore diameter only slightly larger than the wire diameter and, therefore, the maximum number of contact surfaces is four. Each of the contact surfaces for these current pickups are located on the current pickup bore surface at 90 degrees from each other with respect to the bore longitudinal axis. After these four contact surfaces have been exposed and worn, the current pickup is no longer useful and is replaced. Exposing the four different contact surfaces of the cylinder-type pickups, however, normally requires the disassembly of the various guide arm assembly components so as to gain access to the current pickup located therein and so that a tool or other means can be used for turning the current pickup about its longitudinal axis and exposing the new contact surface. An example of this is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,680. As can be appreciated, although this is generally acceptable, the disassembly of the entire guide arm to gain access to the current pickup can be cumbersome, time-consuming and, thus, costly. In addition, although other devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,643 have been devised for tilting and/or turning the cylindrical-type current pickup without disassembly of the entire guide arm, such devices of the past are somewhat complex and costly. Furthermore, even with such devices, the replacement of the current pickup, once all bore contact surfaces have been diminished still requires complete disassembly of the guide arm for gaining access to the current pickup and replacing the same. Again, this is somewhat cumbersome, time-consuming and costly.

Accordingly, a need exists for a current pickup apparatus that conveys electrical current to and from a moving wire and which overcomes the above-discussed disadvantages associated with prior current pickup assemblies and which further provides a substantial number of different contact surfaces on the pickup and which allows easy removing and replacing the pickup without disassembly of the guide arm assembly housing the pickup. In addition, a need exists for such apparatus which is both reliable and generally inexpensive to manufacture, assemble and operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the principal object of the present invention to overcome the above-discussed disadvantages associated with prior current pickups.

The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned and other disadvantages associated with prior current pickups by providing an apparatus which improves applicant's current pickup disclosed in applicant's parent U.S. application filed on Dec. 23, 1992, Ser. No. 995,887 and which also improves applicant's current pickup apparatus disclosed in applicant's U.S. application filed on Jun. 16, 1993, Ser. No. 08/078,007, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,175. In those applications, there was provided a rod-shaped or cylindrical pickup at an acute angle with respect to the axis of the wire defined by two points. This axis or normal straight line of travel of the wire is offset so as to intersect the outer surface of the rod and cause the wire to rub thereagainst in a helical or elliptic contact pattern. Accordingly, although the rod diameter is circular and generally small, the contact surface appears elliptical to the wire along its contact length.

More specifically, the electrically conductive rod has a circular outer surface with respect to its longitudinal axis and is received within a bore of a rod support or holder body. The rod holder body includes a wire-receiving hole therethrough at an acute angle from the rod and bore longitudinal axes. The wire-receiving hole surface and the bore surface intersect and thereby define a generally straight elongate passage therebetween. The electrically-conductive wire to which electrical current is transferred is received through the wire hole and is guided therethrough with two guide members which are preferably the orifice-type, one on each side of the wire hole. The passage between the wire hole and the bore is generally parallel to a straight line defined between the guide member bores. This straight line also intersects the electrically-conductive rod circular outer surface so that when wire traveling through the two guide bores is made taut, the wire contacts the rod circular outer contact surface along a curvilinear path or, more specifically, along a path defined by a segment of an ellipse.

So as to provide a plurality of contact surfaces, according to the present invention, as one curvilinear path contact surface of the conductive member or rod is worn, another similar curvilinear contact surface is provided by turning the rod about its longitudinal axis to expose a new unworn portion of the rod outer surface. The total theoretical available different contact surfaces is equal to the circumference of the rod diameter divided by the diameter of the wire being used. For example, a 375 inch diameter rod used in conjunction with a 0.002 diameter wire can provided a total of 589 different contact surfaces. However, to prevent the wire from falling back into a previously created groove and, further, because the wire tends to vibrate and cause a groove somewhat larger than its own diameter, the actual number of contact surfaces is less than theoretical.

Various different assemblies are provided for turning the conductive member rod about its longitudinal axis. One assembly includes a tool receiving opening on one longitudinal end of the rod and adapted for cooperating with a tool which is rotated and which causes the conductive member to turn about its longitudinal axis.

Another assembly for turning the conductive member rod about its axis includes gear teeth around the circumferential surface of the conductive member at one longitudinal end. A driving gear is provided meshing with the conductive member rod gear teeth and is selectively turned for causing the conductive member to turn about its longitudinal axis. In a preferred assembly, the ring gear is on an annular member having a longitudinal axis and surrounding the conductive member rod. The annular member is adapted for rotational movement, thus causing the conductive member to be turned about its axis. An index pin mechanism is provided on the annular member for selectively stopping the annular member at each of the plurality of positions and thus providing a plurality of contact surfaces corresponding to each stopping position. The annular member is provided with indications such as numerals corresponding to a stopping position and a contact surface, so that the operator can know which contact surface is currently being used and the number of contact surfaces remaining unworn.

In another embodiment, the ring gear is on a flush cup which is detachably attached to the guide arm assembly. The flush cup is adapted for rotational movement and, thus, causing the turning of the conductive member.

In another embodiment, the driving gear is a bevel gear located on the end of a shaft which is itself adapted for rotational movement about the shaft longitudinal axis. In a similar embodiment, a driving bevel gear is provided and adapted for rotation about an axis which is at an acute angle from the conductive member longitudinal axis. A second bevel gear is adapted for meshing with the first driving bevel gear and, thus, the turning of the second bevel gear causes selective turning of the conductive member rod.

In another embodiment, the driving gear is a worm gear on the end of a shaft which is itself adapted for rotation about the shaft axis thereby causing the conductive member rod to selectively turn about its longitudinal axis.

In all of the foregoing embodiments, there are provided devices for both indexing to discrete positions corresponding to contact surfaces on the conductive member and, also, indicating devices for telling the operator which of the plurality of contact surfaces is currently being used.

In yet another embodiment, there is provided a toggle mechanism for selectively contacting the member gear teeth and partially turning the conductive member about its longitudinal axis and, thereafter, retracting in a position for selectively repeating the contacting and partial turning. When in the retracted position, the toggle mechanism cooperates with the member gear teeth for preventing rotational movement of the conductive member. As with the preferred embodiment here, each toggle provides a new contact surface on the conductive member and indications are provided for indicating to the operator which of the plurality of contact surfaces is presently being used.

The conductive member rod is retained in a bore of a holding or supporting body. The conductive member is loaded into its holding bore by detaching the flush cup and removing and replacing the conductive member from the working end of the support arm assembly and holding body. In one embodiment, the removal of the flush cup exposes the conductive member bore in the supporting body and by removing a retaining clip, the conductive member can be removed and replaced. In another embodiment, the support body is detached from the support arm thus exposing one end of the conductive member holding bore and allowing the replacement of the conductive member.

So as to form and provide the wire receiving hole or passageway through the support or holder body and the passageway between the wire hole and the bore retaining the electrically conductive member, preferably, a sleeve is provided surrounding the rod-shaped conductive member or pickup and the wire hole or passageway is defined by a channel which is cut through the sleeve.

More specifically, when forming the apparatus, a wire hole for receiving therethrough and guiding the wire is not drilled or otherwise cut into the support body. Rather, the current pickup receiving bore in the support body is enlarged and a sleeve is received within the bore. The rod-shaped current pickup is received within the sleeve. Thus, the sleeve is located within the support body bore and between the conductive pickup and the support body. A channel or slot is cut through the sleeve at an angle with respect to its longitudinal axis. This angle is the same as the angle between the pickup longitudinal axis and the normal straight line of wire travel thereby placing the channel in a plane which is colinear with the normal straight line of wire travel. In this fashion, the channel defines a wire passageway exposing the conductive pickup circular outer surface to the wire travelling therethrough so that when the wire is made taut, the wire contacts the circular outer contact surface thereof and current can be transferred between the wire and the current pickup.

More preferably, the sleeve surrounding the current pickup is made of a non-conductive material such as ceramic or plastic. Additionally, the sleeve channel walls which face one another are concave-shaped thereby forming a passageway which is generally conforming to the rod-shaped wire travelling therethrough. A pin is provided and extends through a bore in the support body and through a hole in the sleeve so as to retain the sleeve and passageway in a fixed position with respect to the conductive pickup. Accordingly, as the pickup is turned about its longitudinal axis for exposing a plurality of contact surfaces to the wire at the wire passageway, the sleeve remains fixed within the bore of the support body.

In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to an apparatus for transferring electrical current to or from a moving electrically-conductive wire travelling between two points. The apparatus includes an electrically-conductive member having a longitudinal axis and a circular outer surface with respect to the longitudinal axis. The conductive member is located with its longitudinal axis at an angle from a straight line defined by the two points. A support body is provided having a bore therein and the conductive member is received in the bore. A sleeve is provided in the support body bore and between the conductive member and the support body. The sleeve includes a channel communicating with the conductive member outer surface and thereby providing a wire passageway. The conductive wire travels through the wire passageway and in contact with the conductive member circular outer surface.

In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to an apparatus for transferring electric current to or from a moving conductive wire traveling between two points. The apparatus includes an electrically-conductive member having an outer surface. A support body having a bore therein is provided and the conductive member is received in the bore. A sleeve is provided in the support body bore between the conductive member and the support body. The sleeve has a channel communicating with the conductive member outer surface and provides a wire passageway. The conductive wire travels through the wire passageway and in contact with the conductive member outer surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an electrical discharge machine support arm assembly and guides for guiding the wire and incorporating an improved apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 taken along line 2--2;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 taken along line 3--3;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 taken along line 4--4;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another improved apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of another improved apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of another improved apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of another improved apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of another improved apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of another improved apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a partial view taken along line 11--11 of FIG. 10 and showing part of the toggle mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view showing yet another improved apparatus according to the present invention; and,

FIG. 13 is a blown-up diagrammatic view of a toggle mechanism incorporated in the improved apparatus of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a partial diagrammatic view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of a pickup and sleeve showing the travelling wire within the sleeve channel and in contact with the pickup according to the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a front elevational view of the pickup and sleeve shown in FIG. 15 but with the sleeve and pickup having the same longitudinal length and further depicting a pin fixing the sleeve within the support body;

FIG. 17 is an end view of the pickup and sleeve shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an end view of a sleeve according to the present invention and looking through the wire passageway;

FIG. 19 is a front elevational view of another sleeve according to the present invention wherein the channel walls remain in a plane perpendicular to the sleeve cylindrical inner and outer surfaces;

FIG. 20 is an end view of the sleeve shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is an end view of another sleeve according to the present invention wherein the channel walls are concave;

FIG. 22 is a partial cross sectional view of an apparatus according to the present invention and showing a sleeve forming a wire passageway over a rotatable current pickup;

FIG. 23 is a top plan view of a sleeve section prior to rolling and forming a sleeve according to the present invention;

FIG. 24 is an end view of the sleeve section shown in FIG. 23 and showing concave formed channel walls.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The exemplifications set out herein illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention in one form thereof and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure or the scope of the invention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Referring initially to FIG. 1, the general operation of an electrical discharge machine is diagrammatically shown. The discharge machine includes a supply spool of wire 10 providing wire 12 through an upper support assembly and guiding arm 14, a workpiece 16, a lower support assembly and guiding arm 18 and, finally, unloading the wire 12 into container 20. Each of the support guiding assemblies 14 and 18 have a working end or side designated by the numeral 22 for facing in the direction of workpiece 16 when workpiece 16 is being cut.

Assemblies 14 and 18 each include a support arm 24 selectively movable in a known and customary manner for moving the support and guiding assemblies 14 and 20 during the cutting operations. The support and guiding assemblies include a barrel 26 having an inner tapered surface 28 and an upper left-handed threaded bore 30. A T-member 32 having an elongate portion 34 and a disk portion 36 is provided at the upper end of barrel 26. T-member 32 includes a bore 38 where through wire 12 is received. An orifice-type guide member 40 made of diamond or other suitable material is provided and is mounted via sintered metal 42 or by other suitable means within bore 38. The elongate portion 34 of T-member 32 has left-handed threads 44 adapted for threadingly engaging and being received within left-handed threaded bore 30 and securing T-member 32 as shown. The circumferential side of disc portion 36 of T-member 32 is threaded with right-handed threads 46.

A support or holder body 48 is provided for partially being received within tapered bore 28 and includes a threaded bore 50 adapted for engaging right-handed threads 46 of disc portion 36. Thus, support body 48 can be drawn up into tapered bore 28 and tightly secured in position as shown. Support body 48 includes a wire hole 52 wherethrough wire 12 is caused to travel and come in contact with a contact surface 53 over conductive member or rod 54 received within conductive member bore 56. As shown in FIG. 1, conductive member bore 56 and, thus, conductive member 54 have colinear longitudinal axes which are at an acute angle with respect to the normal straight line of wire travel as diagrammatically depicted by wire 12 in FIG. 1. At the end of wire hole 52 closest to workpiece 16, there is provided a guiding member 58 being of the orifice type and being made of diamond or other suitable material. The guiding member 58 is mounted within wire hole 52 with a sintered metal nib 60 or other suitable material in a known and customary manner. Thus, the normal straight line of wire travel is better defined by a line directly between the orifice openings of guide members 40 and 58.

It is noted that the outer surface of support body 48 is adapted for contacting engagement of tapered bore 28. In addition, a plurality of grooves 62 are provided circumferentially around support body 48 and communicating with fluid intake opening 64. A dielectric fluid is, thus, provided under pressure through intake opening 64 as indicated by arrows A through grooves 62 and ring gear 66 into flush cup 68 and out through the flush cup central opening 70 toward workpiece 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, conductive member 54, at its lower end thereof towards the workpiece, includes a plurality of gear teeth 72. Gear teeth 72 are provided circumferentially around the outer surface at the longitudinal lower end of conductive member 54 and, further, are provided at a slight tapered angle with respect to the conductive member longitudinal axis. Teeth 72 terminate at an annular flat 74 which is adapted to engage an annular edge 76 formed at the lower end toward workpiece 16 of bore 56. Thus, conductive member 54 can only be loaded within support body 48 through the upper end 78 of bore 56. At the lower end of member 54, gear teeth 72 are exposed outside of support body 48 and mesh with the teeth of ring gear 66. At the upper end 78 of bore 56, conductive member 54 is provided with a conical indentation 80 supporting a ball bearing 82. An annular disc 84 is provided thereover along with a ring spring 86. Both annular disc 84 and ring spring 86 are received within threaded bore 46 and are sandwiched between T-member 32 and support body 48 in a manner whereby a constant biasing force is provided onto ball bearing 82. This force is transferred downwardly keeping conductive member 54 in position and with annular flat 74 against edge 76. As can be appreciated, the biasing force and the various frictional forces by the assembly are taken into consideration for manufacturing and assembly so as to allow the turning of conductive member 54 about its longitudinal axis with relative ease.

It is now noted that the conductive member 54 can be replaced from the working end 22 by removing the flush cup 68 as more fully discussed hereinbelow, unscrewing support member 48 from T-member 32, removing the support member 48 from within tapered bore 28 and then pulling the conductive member 54 out of bore 56 and replacing with a new conductive member and then again reinserting and attaching the support member 48 in the position as shown. As can be appreciated, this eliminates the need for disassembly of the entire support assemblies 14, 18 for replacing the guide member as was required by the prior art.

So as to maximize performance and provide a maximum number of conductive contact surfaces for wire 12, conductive member 54 is selectively turned about its longitudinal axis for exposing new contact surfaces along the exterior surface 53 of conductive member 54. More specifically, ring gear 66, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, acts as the driving gear meshing with gear teeth 72 in a manner whereby the rotational movement of ring gear 66 causes the turning of conductive member 54. In this regard, ring gear 66 is attached to annular ring member 88 which is rotatably affixed to the lower end of barrel 26. O-ring 90 is provided in the annular groove 92 and between annular ring 88 and barrel 26 to provide a hermetic seal thereat. An annular race 94 is provided on the outer surface of barrel 26 for partially receiving ball bearings 96. Thus, annular ring 88 is fixed with respect to the longitudinal but can be selectively rotated thereabout around barrel 26.

Ball bearings 96 are retained in place via L-shaped ring 98 which circumscribes and is affixed to annular ring 88 via set screws 100. Accordingly, to remove annular ring member 88, set screws 100 are loosened thereby removing L-shaped ring 98 and releasing ball bearings 96 out of annular race 94 and allowing annular ring member 88 to be pulled away from barrel 26. However, when L-shaped ring 98 is in place as shown in FIG. 1, the operator need only grasp the L-shaped ring 98 and turn the same about the longitudinal axis causing ring gear 66 to turn conductive member 54 and, thereby, place the conductive member 54 in another one of the plurality of positions and selectively exposing another unworn contact surface.

In view of the large number of contact surfaces along the outer surface of conductive member 54, there is provided an index mechanism whereby conductive member 54 can be selectively stopped at a plurality of discreet positions and, thus, providing the plurality of different contact surfaces. The index mechanism shown in FIG. 1 includes a detent pin 102 being biased toward L-shaped ring member 98 via spring 104 received within bore 106. Detent pin 102 is selectively received within the detents 108 along the outer circumferential surface of L-shaped ring 98. The force of spring 104, the shape of detent pin 102 and the shape of the L-shaped ring portions 110 inbetween detents 108 are made such that the operator must place a greater force for the detent pin to travel over portions 110 and into the next detent 108. In addition, the number of detents placed on the L-shaped ring 98 is mathematically calculated and set so that each of the plurality of detents 108 corresponds with a specific curvilinear contact surface on the outer surface of conductive member 54. In this fashion, the operator is also assured that rotation of L-shaped ring 98 into the next succeeding detent or notch will cause a new unworn contact surface to be exposed to wire 12.

A plurality of indicators, such as numerals 109, are also provided on the L-shaped ring corresponding to each of the plurality of detents 108 for displaying to the operator and providing an indication as to which of the plurality of contact surfaces is currently being used. An arrow 112 diagrammatically shown in FIG. 3, can also be printed on, for example, barrel 26 to provide a reference point to the operator. In this fashion, the operator will also know how many of the plurality of contact surfaces have already been used and will know when to get ready to replace the conductive member 54 due to a completely worn outer surface 53.

It is also noted that it is contemplated for L-shaped ring 98 and/or other driving mechanisms, as will be described hereinbelow, to be used in a continually driving fashion while wire 12 is caused to travel over conductive member 94 and, in a manner whereby the entire outer surface of conductive member 54 is caused to wear evenly and not at discreet locations.

Advantageously, the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1 further includes a detachably attachable flush cup 68. Flush cup 68 includes a cylindrical wall 114 provided with tangential bores 116 whereat there are received ball bearings 118. Ball bearings 118 extend radially inwardly and engage annular edge 120 of annular ring 88 for retaining flush cup 68 mounted thereon. In addition, ball bearings 118 allow flush cup 68 to freely slide longitudinally in a manner whereby the pressure of the fluid therein will push the flush cup 68 toward workpiece 16 and cause the flush cup lowermost surface 122 to be forced against workpiece 16.

For detaching flush cup 68 from assembly 14, a cylindrical member 124 is provided circumscribing cylindrical wall 114 of flush cup 68. Cylindrical member 124 is provided with an annular groove 126. A spring 128 is also provided inbetween wall 114 and member 124 urging member 124 in the position as shown in FIG. 1 for retaining ball bearings 118 in tangential bore 116. For removing the flush cup 68, the operator need only grasp cylindrical member 124 moving the same longitudinally away from assembly 114 and causing annular groove 126 to be aligned with tangential bore 116 and thereby allowing ball bearings 118 to be moved radially outwardly and within annular groove 126. Accordingly, annular edge 120 can now be avoided and flush cup 68 can be detached from annular ring 88. It is noted that replacement of flush cup 68 merely requires the reverse operation for allowing ball bearings to slip over edge 120 and thereafter be forced against the outer surface of annular ring 88 and against edge 120 for retaining flush cup 168 in the shown position. It is also noted that an O-ring 130 is provided inbetween flush cup cylindrical wall 114 and annular ring 88 for providing a hermetic seal thereat and allowing the dielectric fluid to only travel outwardly from flush cup 68 through flush cup central opening 70.

As can be appreciated from the foregoing, the improved apparatus as shown in FIGS. 1-4 not only provides a plurality of different contact surfaces to the wire, but also allows for easily replacing the conductive member 54 from the working end 22.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the driving gear 66 is also a ring gear, however, is now mounted directly to the flush cup 68. Flush cup 68 is adapted for rotational movement about the longitudinal and, in this regard, is diagrammatically shown as having ball bearings 132. Similar to the flush cup shown in FIG. 1, the flush cup of FIG. 5 can also be detachably attached, however, in a position for preventing longitudinal movement and keeping ring gear 66 and teeth 72 in meshing alignment. An index mechanism in the form of a spring 104 and detent pin 102 is also provided similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1. However, in this embodiment, detent pin 102 cooperates with detents located on the flush cup surface 134. Further yet, indicating numerals or other symbols (not shown) are provided on outer surface 136 of flush cup 68 for indicating the discrete position corresponding to a contact surface being used by the conductive member 54.

It is noted that in the embodiment of FIG. 5, a prior art type of support assembly 14 has been modified for receiving the present improved apparatus and that conductive member 54 must be mounted by disassembling assembly 14 and placement of support body 48 and conductive member 54 from the top or the non-working end. Here, the support body 48 is forced against the tapered bore 138 of barrel 26. It is, however, contemplated that the support assembly 14 of FIG. 5 could be modified in a manner similar to FIG. 1 whereby loading of the conductive member 54 can be accomplished by removing flush cup 68 and loading the conductive member 54 from the working end 22.

FIGS. 6-12 diagrammatically show some additional contemplated embodiments according to the present invention. In each of these embodiments, a prior art type of flush cup 140 is shown affixed to the support assembly 14 via threads 142. In the embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9, the driving gear is a bevel type gear 144 meshing with teeth 72 of conductive member 54. These bevel gears 144 have an axis of rotation which will always be at an acute angle from the conductive member longitudinal axis. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, bevel gear 144 is on the end of a shaft 146 which itself has a central longitudinal axis which is colinear with the bevel gear axis of rotation. At the other end of shaft 146, there is provided a knob 148 adapted for grasping and turning. Thus, by turning shaft 146 about its longitudinal axis, conductive member 54 is caused to turn about its axis for exposing the plurality of contact surfaces to wire 12. Similarly, an index mechanism such as a spring and ball detent is provided for stopping at discreet positions corresponding with contact surfaces. Further yet, symbols or other indicators (not shown) can be placed on the knob 148 or some other mechanically equivalent indication mechanism can be incorporated for showing the operator the contact surface currently being used.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, similar to that of FIG. 1, the conductive member 54 is loaded from the working end 22. Here, a bore 56 for conductive member 54 is provided in supporting body 48. An annular edge 76 is not provided in bore 56 of this embodiment and, thus, conductive member 54 is inserted and removed from bore 56 from bore opening 150. An annular groove 152 is, however, provided on the inside surface of bore 56 and is adapted for receiving snap ring 154 thereat. Snap ring 154 extends into bore 56 and acts to retain conductive member 54 therein. Thus, conductive member 54 is selectively removed from bore 56 by first removing flush cup 140 and snap ring 154 and withdrawing conductive member 54 from bore 56. After a new conductive member is inserted within bore 56, the snap ring 154 is replaced and the new conductive member is ready for operation.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9, conductive member 54 is shown as being loaded from the top or the non-working end 22. It is noted, however, that both bevel gear 144 and second bevel gear 154 can be located closer to the workpiece in a manner whereby conductive member 54 can be loaded from the working end 22 similar to the embodiment of FIG. 8 described hereinabove. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the second bevel gear 154 meshes with bevel driving gear 144 and a radial surface 156 is provided with second bevel gear 154 in a manner whereby the operator can cause the turning of bevel gear 154. In this fashion, bevel gear 154 which has an axis of rotation being parallel to the axis of rotation of bevel gear 144 causes bevel gear 144 to turn about its axis of rotation and, thus, also causing conductive member 54 to turn about its longitudinal axis and exposing its plurality of contact surfaces to wire 12. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 8, a spring and ball detent mechanism is provided for selective stopping at discreet positions corresponding to specific contact surfaces and symbols or other indications are provided on radial surface 156 for indicating the specific contact surface being used.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a worm gear 158 is provided on the end of shaft 160. The worm gear and shaft 160 are situated generally perpendicular to conductive member 54. Here, worm gear 158 acts as the driving gear. At the other end of shaft 160 there is provided a knob 162 adapted for grasping and turning by the operator. Accordingly, turning of knob 162 causes driving worm gear 158 to turn and mesh with teeth 72 thereby causing conductive member 54 to turn about its longitudinal axis. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 8, an index mechanism and an indication means is provided with this embodiment. Furthermore, conductive member 54 is loaded from the working end 22 through the use of snap ring 154.

Referring now to FIG. 6, conductive member 54 is again loaded from the working end 22 by removing the flush cup 140 and snap ring 154. In this embodiment however, there is provided a tool receiving means shown in the form of a hexagonally-shaped recess 164. Hexagonally-shaped recess 164 is provided at the longitudinal end of conductive member 54 and is adapted for receiving therein and cooperating with a tool shown in FIG. 6 in the form of a hexagonal ball 166 on the end of a rod 168. Thus, by inserting hexagonal ball 166 in recess 164 and turning rod 168, conductive member 54 is caused to turn about its longitudinal axis. An index mechanism is also provided with this embodiment similar to the index mechanisms shown and discussed hereinabove for stopping conductive member 54 at discreet positions. Here, however, the plurality of detents 108 are provided on the upper end of conductive member 54. Further yet, for speeding up the turning of conductive member 54 to the next indexed contact surface, a selectively openable and closable hole 170 is provided in flush cup 140. Thus, when turning is required, hole 170 is opened allowing the insertion of hexagonal ball 166 and rod 168 and, after conductive member 54 is turned to its next successive position, the tool is retracted therefrom and hole 170 is closed with an appropriate cap (not shown).

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 10-12, there are shown toggle mechanisms adapted for selectively contacting at least one gear tooth 72 at a time and partially turning conductive member 54 about its longitudinal axis and, thereafter, retracting in a position for selectively repeating the contacting and partial turning. In the embodiment of FIG. 10, the toggle mechanism includes a flexible elongate shaft 172 received within a bore 174 and adapted for longitudinal movement therein. A push button 176 is provided at one end of shaft 172 whereas the other end 178 is in contact with gear teeth 72. A spring 180 biases shaft 172 in the position shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

In operation, push button 176 is depressed causing end 178 of shaft 172 to be forced against one of a surface 182 of gear teeth 72 (shaped differently in this embodiment than previously discussed embodiments) and thus causing conductive member 54 to be turned about its longitudinal axis. It is noted that shaft 172 is flexible and is caused to flex radially away from conductive member 54 by the next successive tooth, 184 in FIG. 11. However, releasing push button 176 allows spring 180 to push shaft 172 away from gear teeth 72 and causing end 178 to be placed in position for next pushing surface 182 of the next succeeding tooth 184.

It is noted that the toggle mechanism of these embodiments acts similar to the index mechanisms discussed hereinabove and retains the conductive member 54 in one of a plurality of positions corresponding with the plurality of contact surfaces. An indication means is also provided for indicating to the operator which of the discreet positions the conductive member is in. Here, a drum 186 is provided and rotates about a vertical axis. Drum 186 includes gear teeth at its bottom surface similar to those of conductive member 54 shown in FIG. 11. Gear teeth 188 of drum 186 cooperate with shaft 172 in a manner whereby each insertion and retraction of shaft 172 causes a discreet radial movement of drum 186 about its vertical axis. Numerals or other symbols are printed on the exterior surface of drum 186 and are visible to the operator for indicating to the operator the contact surface currently in use. It is noted that in this embodiment conductive member 54 is again loaded from the working end 22 by removal of flush cup 140 and snap ring 154.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12-14, the toggle mechanism requires a pushing force which is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of conductive member 54. Here, the toggle mechanism is generally indicated in FIG. 12 by the numeral 190 and the components thereof are shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 13 and 14. As shown in FIG. 13, the conductive member 54 is provided with a coaxial shaft 192 having a square-shaped portion 194 at its terminus. Square-shaped portion 194 is adapted to be received within square-shaped bore 196 of lower cylindrical tooth member 198. Lower tooth member 198 is shown diagrammatically in a flat plane in FIG. 13, however, it is noted that, in practice, lower tooth member 198 is generally cylindrical-shaped with teeth 200 extending longitudinally upwardly radially around the longitudinal axis. A spring 202 is provided between member 198 and conductive member 54 thereby urging tooth member 198 upwardly and away from conductive member 54.

A rack 204 of teeth 206 is provided above tooth member 198. Rack 204 is also diagrammatically shown in FIG. 13 in a flat plane, however, in practice is cylindrically-shaped and formed on conductive member bore 56 such that teeth 206 extend radially inwardly from the conductive member bore surface and leaving valleys 208 therebetween. Teeth 200 of member 198 are adapted to be slidingly received inbetween rack teeth 206 and within valleys 208.

Above rack 204 there is provided an upper cylindrical tooth member 210 formed with teeth 212. Upper cylindrical tooth member 210 is shaped generally identical to member 198 and is again diagrammatically shown in a flat plane in FIG. 13. Tooth member 210 is, however, provided with a push rod 214 adapted to be forced downwardly in the direction as shown by arrow F. A wall 216 attached to bore 56 and a spring member 218 are provided on push rod 214 as shown and in a manner whereby upper cylindrical tooth member 210 is urged upwardly and away from rack 204.

The components of toggle mechanism 190 are shown blown up in FIG. 13. When they are assembled and brought together, upper tooth member teeth 212 and lower tooth member teeth 200 are both slidingly received within valleys 208 in between rack teeth 206. In this fashion, so long as lower tooth member teeth 200 are within valleys 208, conductive member 54 is prevented from turning about its longitudinal axis.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 14, when a force F is applied to rod 214, teeth 212 are forced against spring 218 downwardly and in contact with lower teeth member teeth 200. More specifically, slanted faces 220 of upper tooth member 210 are caused to come in contact with slanted faces 222 of lower tooth member 198. In this fashion, lower tooth member teeth 200 are urged downwardly against the force of spring 202 until face 222 clears the lowermost point 224 of rack teeth 206. Immediately at that point in time, face 222 is caused to slide upwardly along face 226 of rack teeth 206. Thus, lower tooth member 198 is caused to turn about its longitudinal axis and simultaneously move upwardly until teeth 200 enter the next succeeding valley 208. As can be appreciated, the turning of member 198 also causes conductive member 54 to turn about its longitudinal axis and, thereby, expose a new contact surface to the wire 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 15-24, there is depicted a sleeve 300 received around conductive member or rod 54. Sleeve 300 is thus coaxial with conductive member 54 and has a central longitudinal axis 304 which is at an acute angle with respect to the normal straight line of wire travel of wire 12. Sleeve 300 is cylindrical shaped and includes a channel 302 cut through it for forming a wire passageway. As best seen in FIG. 16, channel 302 is coplanar with the normal straight line of wire travel of wire 12.

More specifically, sleeve 300 includes a cylindrical inner surface 306, a cylindrical outer surface 308, a first annular end 310 and a second annular end 312. The inner cylindrical surface 306 has substantially the same diameter as that of outer contact surface 53 of current contact member 54.

Although sleeve 300 is cylindrically-shaped in the preferred embodiment, it does not extend entirely around conductive member 54. Rather, as indicated hereinabove, channel 302 is cut into sleeve 300 and forming the wire passageway. Channel 302 forming the wire passageway is thus located between sleeve walls 314. As should now be evident, the cross sectional size of channel 302 and, thus, the wire passageway can be controlled by merely varying the distance between sleeve walls 314 and the thickness of sleeve 300 between its inner surface 306 and its outer surface 308.

In FIGS. 15-18, channel sleeve walls 314 are shown located in planes which are parallel to the normal straight line of wire travel and wherein these planes are not intersecting. Although this suffices in forming a wire passageway, as can be seen in FIGS. 17 and 18, if wire 12 were inadvertently forced against the sleeve wall 314 forming an acute angle with contact surface 53, it is possible for wire 12 to be wedged between contact surface 53 and a sleeve wall 314 thus causing wire breakage and/or other damage. So as to prevent this wedging, in the preferred embodiment as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, sleeve walls 314 are cut into sleeve 300 so that they are always perpendicular to sleeve inner and outer surfaces 306 and 308. Thus, sleeve channel walls 314 remain perpendicular to the contact surface 53 of conductive member 54 and the likelihood of wedging therebetween is substantially eliminated.

In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 21, sleeve channel walls 314 are generally concave-shaped and are adapted to face wire 12. Here, the sleeve walls 314 provide the least potential wedging locations and are believed to be the most preferred shape for automatic threading of wire 12.

Sleeve 300 is preferably made by obtaining stock cylindrical piping, cutting the piping to length and, thereafter, cutting channel 302 therethrough as shown. However, for more easily forming concave sleeve walls, as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, it is contemplated that flat stock 316 can be cut into a trapezoid as shown and the edges thereof formed to be concave as shown in FIG. 24. This flat stock 316 can then be rolled for forming the sleeve 300 and channel 302 between walls 314.

It is noted that sleeve 300 can be made of stainless steel or other suitable metals or, in the alternative, can be made of a non-conductive materials such as plastics or ceramics. It is believed non-conductive material would be best suited for preventing arc erosion and/or arc binding between conductive member 54 and the inner surface 306 of sleeve 300.

Referring now to FIG. 22 and to FIG. 16, a sleeve 300 is shown within bore 56 in the support or holder body 48. Conductive member 54 at its lower end is provided with gear teeth 72 for meshing with ring gear 66 affixed to flush cup 68. Thus, by turning flush cup 68, conductive member 54 is turned about its longitudinal axis as described hereinabove for exposing a plurality of new contact surfaces to wire 12. It is contemplated that the various means of turning conductive member 54 discussed hereinabove and other similar or equivalent structures can be incorporated along with sleeve 300 for more easily and inexpensively providing a wire passageway and turning conductive member 54. In such embodiments, however, it is possible for sleeve 300 to also turn about its longitudinal axis and/or otherwise move longitudinally within bore 56, for example, by the action of conductive member 54 turning therein or by other vibrations. In this regard, so as to positively fix sleeve 300 within bore 56, a bore 318 is provided and extends through support body 48 and is aligned with hole 320 extending through sleeve 300. A pin 322 is forced through bore 318 and hole 320 thereby fixing sleeve 300 and channel 302 in position within support body 48. Pin 322 is retained within bore 318 by frictional engagement or other suitable means.

As can now be seen, sleeve 300 having a channel 302 provides the necessary wire passageway for wire 12 over the contact surface 53 of conductive member 54. In this fashion, the need for drilling or otherwise forming wire hole 52 is eliminated. Channel 302 replaces and/or provides a wire hole 52 in a less expensive manner. Further sleeve 300 provides a desired wall such as a non-conductive wall between conductive member 54 and support body 48 to prevent potential arc binding of member 54.

Depending on the thickness of sleeve 300, if the wire passageway formed by channel 302 is generally small compared to the diameter of wire 12 and depending on the electrical potential of support body 48, it is possible for arc erosion to occur between wire 12 and support body 48 along channel 302. To prevent this arc erosion, it is further contemplated that a second sleeve 324 as shown in FIG. 21 can be placed around sleeve 300 and within an enlarged conductive body bore 56. Second sleeve 324 is preferably made of non-conductive materials such as plastics or ceramics and must be of sufficient thickness to provide sufficient resistance and prevent arcs from occurring between wire 12 and conductive body 48.

It is further contemplated that sleeve 300 and/or sleeve 324 as described hereinabove can be used in conjunction with various different shaped current pickups placed in various different positions. For example, it is contemplated that sleeve 300 and/or 324 can be used in conjunction with barrel, conical, inverted elliptic, and other outside surfaces as disclosed in parent application Ser. No. 08/078,007 filed on Jun. 16, 1993, and entitled "Current Pickup Indexing Apparatus". Additionally, especially with respect to those pickups shaped with a radially larger or thicker area i.e., the barrel shape, it is contemplated that the sleeves would be made in two components or parts so as to provide a means of assembly thereof. In any event, a sleeve 300 and a sleeve 324 as described hereinabove in these embodiments would again function to provide a wire passageway as defined by a channel 302 over the outer contact surface of the current pickup so as to guide wire 12 and so as to allow wire 12 to contact the contact surface and to prevent spark erosion from occurring between wire 12 and the support body 48.

While the invention has been described as having specific embodiments, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification. This application is, therefore, intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and fall within the limits of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for transferring electric current to or from a moving conductive wire travelling between two points, said apparatus comprising:an electrically conductive member having a longitudinal axis and a circular outer surface with respect to said longitudinal axis and located with said longitudinal axis at an angle from a straight line defined by the two points; a support body having a bore therein, said conductive member received in said bore; and, a sleeve in said support body bore between said conductive member and said support body, said sleeve having a channel communicating with said conductive member outer surface and providing a wire passageway, said conductive wire travelling through said wire passageway and in contact with said conductive member circular outer surface.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:means for turning said conductive member about its longitudinal axis; and, means for fixing said sleeve in said support body bore, whereby said passageway remains fixed as said conductive member is turned about its longitudinal axis.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said fixing means includes a pin extending through a bore in said support body and through a hole in said sleeve.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said conductive member is rod-shaped and said sleeve is cylindrical-shaped, said conductive member received in said sleeve and said sleeve received in said support body bore.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said channel is located between two walls formed in said sleeve, said walls being concave-shaped and facing each other.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising:means for turning said conductive member about its longitudinal axis; and, means for fixing said sleeve in said support body bore, whereby said passageway remains fixed as said conductive member is turned about its longitudinal axis.
 7. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising:means for turning said conductive member about its longitudinal axis; and, means for fixing said sleeve in said support body bore, whereby said passageway remains fixed as said conductive member is turned about its longitudinal axis.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said fixing means includes a pin extending through a bore in said support body and through a hole in said sleeve.
 9. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said sleeve is made of a non-conductive material.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:means for turning said conductive member about its longitudinal axis; and, means for fixing said sleeve in said support body bore, whereby said passageway remains fixed as said conductive member is turned about its longitudinal axis.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said fixing means includes a pin extending through a bore in said support body and through a hole in said sleeve.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said channel is located between two walls formed in said sleeve, said walls being concave-shaped and facing each other.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sleeve is made of a non-conductive material.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a pin extending through a bore in said support body and through a hole in said sleeve, whereby said sleeve and said passageway remain fixed in said support body with respect to said conductive member.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a second sleeve received in said support body bore, said second sleeve circumscribing and received around said first sleeve.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said second sleeve is made of a non-conductive material.
 17. An apparatus for transferring electric current to or from a moving conductive wire traveling between two points, said apparatus comprising:an electrically-conductive member having an outer surface; a support body having a bore therein, said conductive member received in said bore; and, a sleeve in said support body bore between said conductive member and said support body, said sleeve having a channel communicating with said conductive member outer surface and providing a wire passageway, said conductive wire traveling through said wire passageway and in contact with said conductive member outer surface.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising:means for turning said conductive member about its longitudinal axis; and, means for fixing said sleeve in said support body bore, whereby said passageway remains fixed as said conductive member is turned about its longitudinal axis.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising a second sleeve received in said conductive body bore and circumscribing said first sleeve, said second sleeve made of a non-conductive material.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said sleeve is made of a non-conductive material.
 21. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising means for fixing said sleeve in said support body bore.
 22. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said conductive member has a barrel-shaped outer surface. 